Friday, April 20, 2012

So. DonnaRose.com is back online. I'll be spending time over the next few weeks to re-tool her, but I've decided to keep her around. I do appreciate the kind words - she has been a trusted friend over the years.

Many of the sites I used to visit during my own transition are long gone. The irony is that the people who ran the sites are now actually personal friends in many instances. So although some websites are significantly scaled back for one reason or another, or gone altogether, others have taken their place. And, mine will endure for at least a few more years.

I'll be updating the website. More to come on that....

I've also decided on a couple of things about this blog.

One, I don't know how often I'll be updating it but it seems to happen fairly regularly. I'll try to keep that up, but it often just flows with life. I've got lots and lots going on right now - as usual - and I've learned to NOT put too much personal stuff here. That won't change.

I've also decided that each entry will have at least one photo. I find my world to be a smorgasbord of sights and sounds and smells and often I'll take at least a photo a day. Plus, I just love photography. I'm still hoping that it's a future career....believe me, I'm working on that. In the meantime, my blog will become more visual. And, each photo will have context, or a story, to go along with it.

There are places to upload photos in a kind of diary thing, but I'd rather do it this way. So, every entry will contain a photo or two. I expect I'll take most of them with my iPhone, as it's always with me and it's the easiest way to get them here without too much extra work. I'm not looking to make this a big effort where everything needs to be perfect - it's simply part of my own enjoyment in doing it.

That said, here's today's photo. I took it while strolling downtown last night. Living here in Charleston is like being on constant vacation sometimes, and although I've never been to Europe this is what I'd envision a back road in a European city might look like. As I mentioned in a previous post, downtown is bright with spring colors and the air is thick with aroma. The little white flowers are jasmine, and the sweet smell is absolutely intoxicating. Anyway - here's today's photo from my world.

This weekend the Olympic Trials for Wrestling are happening. They'll be streaming on NBC so I'll be watching. Anyway, in a way I'm glad to have my life back. I've been on an eating bender since I got back from Iowa. As soon as I finish this I'm headed off to the gym. :)

As I've moved to fill that spot in my world with other things I've also gone through a process of deciding what's there, which things are energy suckers and which provide energy back, and what other things I want to leave behind. Pretty profound stuff, and some big changes in some areas. But the process of taking the time to take life inventory on a regular basis is important....

10pm Update

A couple more things...

There are a couple of good concerts coming to Charlotte, NC in July that I'm planning to see. Coldplay is coming, and so is Train. There are other good bands, as well, but those are the two I'd shell out the bucks and would travel the 200 miles to go see.

I went to see Daughtry in Columbia last week. I realize that they're very pop-rock kinda formulaic stuff, but for some reason I like pretty much everything they do. I was surprised at the age distribution of the audience - the average age was probably 30 something.

For some reason, several of his songs hit home for me in a number of ways. Some are of the angst of relationships. Others are of deeper needs. Somehow, we connect. Here's a clip from the concert.

I wasn't all that far back, but it makes him look teeny.

Here's another song that strikes a chord in me. I guess it's the romantic in me that tries to get out sometimes...I dunno.

I'm going through a "phase", or at I should say I'm going through several phases right now.

One is that I realize how much I miss live music. Charleston doesn't have the most active live-music scene so I'm willing to travel to Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Asheville - I'm not picky. In that respect, I miss Austin.

Another is that I'm also going thru what I'll call a "feminine" phase. It's hard to feel feminine when you're wrestling, or at least it was for me. Now I've got my nails back, I'm enjoying dressing up for summer, my hair is nice and blonde - it's a good thing. I do find that these kinds of things happen in phases so now the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction.

The biggest "phase" in me right now is the need to let go of some things, and the need for home. I'm taking active steps in both regards.

It's deeper than that, but that's enough for now. All good as far as I'm concerned....